Harp Names Committee To Find Harries Successor

Why is the Mayor forming a search committee when she doesn't appoint the Superintendent. The Board of Education does. The BOE members, especially the elected ones, need to stop giving away their authority to Harp. The BOE should be the ones forming a committee if they see fit. NOT HARP!!!!

Read the Charter.

Sec. 17. - Superintendent of Schools.

A.
Appointment. The Superintendent of Schools shall be the Department Head of the public school system for the City. The Board of Education shall appoint the Superintendent of Schools in accordance with the provisions of § 3.A(7) of this Article and in conformity to the requirements of the General Statutes and may remove said Superintendent in accordance with the provisions accorded to the Mayor in § 15.B, D and E of Article II of this Charter or as may otherwise be required by Law.

Dear Mayor Harp,

Thank you for moving swiftly. Teachers know our schools very well and have much to offer this hiring process.

We have one New Haven teacher represented.

Please increase teacher representation on this committee.

Thank you for pointing us back to our City Charter "Inside 165".

Inside: You are 100% correct. If anyone other than the board chooses the superintendent they are out of compliance with the law. The Board of Education supervises the superintendent.

The people of New Haven need to tap Toni Harp on the shoulder and remind her that the city of New Haven has a charter which stipulate her responsibilities and duties and binds her from performing certain acts.
The mayor cannot act on her own in violation of the charter which is the city's constitution, no matter what bad or erroneous advice and opinions she may receive from the corporation counsel, Mr. Rose or anyone else.
It is crystal clear in the charter that the Board of Education has the jurisdictional duty and sole authority to select the next superintendent. Harp can have a hundred committees, but none of them will have charter authority to appoint an interim superintendent or a permanent superintendent.
Mayor Harp needs to study intensely the role, powers, duties and responsibilities of the New Haven Board of Education as an agency of the state of Connecticut. There have been, still are and will be continued conflicts over this matter as long as she fails to appreciate and respect and honor that fact.
This is one reason why her dual role as Mayor of the city and President of the board of Education, a state entity, is problematic. The mayor thinks she can run the BOE like some city department. She cannot. No one is above the law. The charter is the law in New Haven.
Mayor Harp creates unnecessary battles and strife on the BOE by misinterpreting, intentionally or not, the charter and the state role of the BOE. Right now a court or BOE and city attorneys must decide the case regarding the term of Board member Alicia Caraballo. Will there have to be another legal challenge over the mayor's attempt to usurp authority over the BOE to determine the interim and permanent superintendents?
Toni Harp should resign as president of the BOE. She cannot run the city and the BOE simultaneously effectively. The people elected her to be the full time mayor. As part time BOE president, she either has not had the time or the interest to attend a single BOE committee meeting.

The above article states that Mayor Harp tapped 11 people to "help" find a replacement for Garth Harries.

As much as I'd like to add my voice to those requesting her to resign from the BOE, I can't fault her for naming a committee to help in the search.

However, I see it as another politician figuring on her constituents to really not be paying attention so as to up her perception after losing a battle to keep her superintendent of schools.

I'm sorry, but I was once a Harp supporter but no longer.